Immigration

A report written by Erin Sapp of Heartland Democracyrecommends a universal voter registration system. A 21st century voter registration system would place responsibility for ensuring maximal voter registration on the governmental agencies whose mission is to serve communities, voters, and a well functioning democracy. States could use information from driver’s licenses, tax returns, and social service databases to register voters; offer pre-registration in high schools for students aged 16+; and update registries from change-of-address forms. Implementing a system that moves toward universal voter registration would both ensure complete and clean rolls and foster participation by all eligible voters.

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MN's Leading Election System

With Secretary of State Steve Simon

Listen to Secretary of State Steve Simon's excellent presentation on MN's outstanding election system emulated by many other states at the Think Again Brooklyns forum January 19, 2016. Secretary Simon includes ways in which it can be improved, and he explains why it is important to vote. He concludes with a quote from a tee shirt: "Failure to vote is not an act of rebellion. It is an act of surrender."

In January, Oregon became the first state in the country to begin automatically registering eligible citizens to vote when they obtain or renew their driver's licenses or state IDs, completely shifting the burden of voter registration from the individual to the government.